"The graphic that reveals why BMI is useless?"
Options
Replies
-
BMI is so popular for one reason and one reason only- it's insanely easy to measure. All you need is a person's height, age, weight and gender- that's it. Doctors can calculate it with little time and less money and you don't even need to be in same hemisphere for them to do so.
Conversely,stats like body fat percentage, BMR, VO2 max, etc. give a much clearer picture of a person's health, but they take more time and cost more money to fully and accurately perform.0 -
Um, nope. You only need height and weight.
See? Even easier than you thought!0 -
-
Um, nope. You only need height and weight.
See? Even easier than you thought!
Yeah, quick and easy. It's amazing to me how something that simple can give your very close estimates in the overwhelming majority of cases.
During entrance processing for the military, they can use BMI to quickly separate most of the recruits into who is 'ready' and who needs a second look. I said previously, the 1 in 10 that needs a second look simply gets taped measured.0 -
I find it funny that in every thread about BMI, everyone throws out how it doesn't work for body builders / long term athletes. If you actually look at research done on BMI's ability to predict body fat, it actually tends to be TOO GENEROUS about body fat.
In a study of 13,601, BMI classified 21% of men, and 31% of woman as obese versus the body fat percentage showing 50% and 62%, respectively. The rate of men and women diagnosed obese who weren't via body fat standards: 5% for men, and 1% for women. If you wanted to accurately complain about BMI, it would be that it doesn't diagnose enough people as obese that are, not that there is an army of bodybuilders getting put in the obese category by it.0 -
TheLegendaryBrandonHarris wrote: »Um, nope. You only need height and weight.
See? Even easier than you thought!
Yeah, quick and easy. It's amazing to me how something that simple can give your very close estimates in the overwhelming majority of cases.
During entrance processing for the military, they can use BMI to quickly separate most of the recruits into who is 'ready' and who needs a second look. I said previously, the 1 in 10 that needs a second look simply gets taped measured.
That I feel is a sad statistic too. My original goal was to try to be 180 lb with 15% body fat at height 5'6.5. That didn't happen.
0 -
At 5'6.5", if you maxed out the Fat Free Mass Index (about 25 for natural lifters), that would be 157 lb of lean body mass. It could take 10 years or so of lifting if you could hit, which would let you be ~15% body fat at ~184.yopeeps025 wrote: »TheLegendaryBrandonHarris wrote: »Um, nope. You only need height and weight.
See? Even easier than you thought!
Yeah, quick and easy. It's amazing to me how something that simple can give your very close estimates in the overwhelming majority of cases.
During entrance processing for the military, they can use BMI to quickly separate most of the recruits into who is 'ready' and who needs a second look. I said previously, the 1 in 10 that needs a second look simply gets taped measured.
That I feel is a sad statistic too. My original goal was to try to be 180 lb with 15% body fat at height 5'6.5. That didn't happen.0 -
yopeeps025 wrote: »
That I feel is a sad statistic too. My original goal was to try to be 180 lb with 15% body fat at height 5'6.5. That didn't happen.
What did happen? BMI chart says someone at 180 pounds measuring 5' 6.5" would be overweight by about 20 pounds. I cannot estimate your BFP without your waist measurement, though.
I am curious how your case turned out.0 -
I just think the BMI is useless crowd embarass themselves, they spout it as though they have just made some major discovery but show their own ignorance when its understood its just a general population measure and doesnt claim to apply to everyone. We wll know it doesnt take into account muscle, but its for general populations for which its convenient.0
-
If your doctor, nutritionist or dietitian ever thought that BMI was the single most important diagnostic tool for measuring health then they were/are imbeciles. BMI is a statistical tool not a diagnostic tool and as has been mentioned above while it may apply to the broad spectrum of people (I would like to know the actual percentage of the population? Hopefully at least 80%) the simple fact remains that any professional must have the intelligence and capability to apply logic on a case by case basis.0
-
TheLegendaryBrandonHarris wrote: »yopeeps025 wrote: »
That I feel is a sad statistic too. My original goal was to try to be 180 lb with 15% body fat at height 5'6.5. That didn't happen.
What did happen? BMI chart says someone at 180 pounds measuring 5' 6.5" would be overweight by about 20 pounds. I cannot estimate your BFP without your waist measurement, though.
I am curious how your case turned out.
Well I don't know how much a DEXA scan would cost. I was still thinking of getting a bod pod done at 180. I'm 191 as of today. I might still do it just to see how much muscle mass I did lose. I will definitely post my results if I decide to in the forums. I hear too much that the bod pod is just as inaccurate as those scales.0 -
At 5'6.5", if you maxed out the Fat Free Mass Index (about 25 for natural lifters), that would be 157 lb of lean body mass. It could take 10 years or so of lifting if you could hit, which would let you be ~15% body fat at ~184.yopeeps025 wrote: »TheLegendaryBrandonHarris wrote: »Um, nope. You only need height and weight.
See? Even easier than you thought!
Yeah, quick and easy. It's amazing to me how something that simple can give your very close estimates in the overwhelming majority of cases.
During entrance processing for the military, they can use BMI to quickly separate most of the recruits into who is 'ready' and who needs a second look. I said previously, the 1 in 10 that needs a second look simply gets taped measured.
That I feel is a sad statistic too. My original goal was to try to be 180 lb with 15% body fat at height 5'6.5. That didn't happen.
I have been lifting for maybe 7-8 years of never being in a calorie deficit for more than a year of that.
0 -
yopeeps025 wrote: »
Well I don't know how much a DEXA scan would cost. I was still thinking of getting a bod pod done at 180. I'm 191 as of today. I might still do it just to see how much muscle mass I did lose. I will definitely post my results if I decide to in the forums. I hear too much that the bod pod is just as inaccurate as those scales.
I will have to research what those tests are---they are not familiar to me.
This morning I had a friend measure around my belly (what the test refers to as 'waist') and plugged that number and my weight into an online calculator. Came to 18.5%.
You have to measure at your belly-button, though. At 180 pounds, your belly would have to be at 33 inches to be at 15% body fat.0 -
TheLegendaryBrandonHarris wrote: »yopeeps025 wrote: »
Well I don't know how much a DEXA scan would cost. I was still thinking of getting a bod pod done at 180. I'm 191 as of today. I might still do it just to see how much muscle mass I did lose. I will definitely post my results if I decide to in the forums. I hear too much that the bod pod is just as inaccurate as those scales.
I will have to research what those tests are---they are not familiar to me.
This morning I had a friend measure around my belly (what the test refers to as 'waist') and plugged that number and my weight into an online calculator. Came to 18.5%.
You have to measure at your belly-button, though. At 180 pounds, your belly would have to be at 33 inches to be at 15% body fat.
Yeah but the body distribution for fat is different for every person. Apparently I weigh as much as my brother does now. My lower body is way stronger and bigger than his. I had quad definition since I was like 230 lb. I always though that was weird. His upper body might be stronger than mine. His chest is way stronger than mine but its because he has trained it for at least 6 years longer. People now say I look smaller than he does.0 -
I think body fat distribution is comparable enough between most people to make the estimates fairly close.
There will always be outliers, but the majority will be close estimates.0 -
A university near me offered DEXA scans through the nutrition science department for $40. Cheaper than any bodpod I could find in my area.yopeeps025 wrote: »TheLegendaryBrandonHarris wrote: »yopeeps025 wrote: »
That I feel is a sad statistic too. My original goal was to try to be 180 lb with 15% body fat at height 5'6.5. That didn't happen.
What did happen? BMI chart says someone at 180 pounds measuring 5' 6.5" would be overweight by about 20 pounds. I cannot estimate your BFP without your waist measurement, though.
I am curious how your case turned out.
Well I don't know how much a DEXA scan would cost. I was still thinking of getting a bod pod done at 180. I'm 191 as of today. I might still do it just to see how much muscle mass I did lose. I will definitely post my results if I decide to in the forums. I hear too much that the bod pod is just as inaccurate as those scales.0 -
A university near me offered DEXA scans through the nutrition science department for $40. Cheaper than any bodpod I could find in my area.yopeeps025 wrote: »TheLegendaryBrandonHarris wrote: »yopeeps025 wrote: »
That I feel is a sad statistic too. My original goal was to try to be 180 lb with 15% body fat at height 5'6.5. That didn't happen.
What did happen? BMI chart says someone at 180 pounds measuring 5' 6.5" would be overweight by about 20 pounds. I cannot estimate your BFP without your waist measurement, though.
I am curious how your case turned out.
Well I don't know how much a DEXA scan would cost. I was still thinking of getting a bod pod done at 180. I'm 191 as of today. I might still do it just to see how much muscle mass I did lose. I will definitely post my results if I decide to in the forums. I hear too much that the bod pod is just as inaccurate as those scales.
Yeah that is cheaper. Bod pod round my area cost 50. Maybe I should research more but I would still have to do both. Like you know use the same scale for trends.
I tried through my doctor and they were like what is wrong. We usually only do DEXA for at risk people. That idea was trashed immediately.0 -
A university near me offered DEXA scans through the nutrition science department for $40. Cheaper than any bodpod I could find in my area.yopeeps025 wrote: »TheLegendaryBrandonHarris wrote: »yopeeps025 wrote: »
That I feel is a sad statistic too. My original goal was to try to be 180 lb with 15% body fat at height 5'6.5. That didn't happen.
What did happen? BMI chart says someone at 180 pounds measuring 5' 6.5" would be overweight by about 20 pounds. I cannot estimate your BFP without your waist measurement, though.
I am curious how your case turned out.
Well I don't know how much a DEXA scan would cost. I was still thinking of getting a bod pod done at 180. I'm 191 as of today. I might still do it just to see how much muscle mass I did lose. I will definitely post my results if I decide to in the forums. I hear too much that the bod pod is just as inaccurate as those scales.
The university where I work charges the same for 1 and then you can get a 2 scan package for $70.0 -
The university I did it at had a student discount but I'm not a student. No two for one - they strictly limit it to six months between scans.
A university near me offered DEXA scans through the nutrition science department for $40. Cheaper than any bodpod I could find in my area.yopeeps025 wrote: »TheLegendaryBrandonHarris wrote: »yopeeps025 wrote: »
That I feel is a sad statistic too. My original goal was to try to be 180 lb with 15% body fat at height 5'6.5. That didn't happen.
What did happen? BMI chart says someone at 180 pounds measuring 5' 6.5" would be overweight by about 20 pounds. I cannot estimate your BFP without your waist measurement, though.
I am curious how your case turned out.
Well I don't know how much a DEXA scan would cost. I was still thinking of getting a bod pod done at 180. I'm 191 as of today. I might still do it just to see how much muscle mass I did lose. I will definitely post my results if I decide to in the forums. I hear too much that the bod pod is just as inaccurate as those scales.
The university where I work charges the same for 1 and then you can get a 2 scan package for $70.
0 -
The university I did it at had a student discount but I'm not a student. No two for one - they strictly limit it to six months between scans.
A university near me offered DEXA scans through the nutrition science department for $40. Cheaper than any bodpod I could find in my area.yopeeps025 wrote: »TheLegendaryBrandonHarris wrote: »yopeeps025 wrote: »
That I feel is a sad statistic too. My original goal was to try to be 180 lb with 15% body fat at height 5'6.5. That didn't happen.
What did happen? BMI chart says someone at 180 pounds measuring 5' 6.5" would be overweight by about 20 pounds. I cannot estimate your BFP without your waist measurement, though.
I am curious how your case turned out.
Well I don't know how much a DEXA scan would cost. I was still thinking of getting a bod pod done at 180. I'm 191 as of today. I might still do it just to see how much muscle mass I did lose. I will definitely post my results if I decide to in the forums. I hear too much that the bod pod is just as inaccurate as those scales.
The university where I work charges the same for 1 and then you can get a 2 scan package for $70.
Do you know if there is a medical reason to limit it like that? I've looked at our website but the info about the scans is pretty sparse.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.6K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 393 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.3K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 931 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions